1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to knee pads and particular to a method and apparatus for attaching knee pads to work pants.
2. Description of Related Art
When you kneel on a flat surface much of your weight is borne by a small area of each knee, and you subject those areas of your knees to high pressure. Such pressure can damage your knees if you spend long periods in the kneeling position. Knee pads can protect your knees from that high pressure by distributing your weight over wider areas of the knees. They also help to protect the knees and shins from bumps. Some knee pads extend downward to provide additional protection for the shins. A common shin injury results from standing on a step ladder for long periods with the shins pressed against a higher tread of the ladder. The tread puts potentially damaging pressure on a small area of the shin. Shin pads distribute the force from the tread over a wider area of the shins to reduce the pressure on the shins.
Despite the protection that knee and shin pads provide, many workers don't use them. Conventional knee and shin pads are uncomfortable in part because they must be strapped to the user's leg as taught, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,172,552 issued Feb. 22, 1916 to Pierce, U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,294 issued Mar. 29, 1994 Washiek, U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,475 issued Oct. 31, 1989 to Richards, and U.S. Design Pat. No. 278,470 issued Apr. 23, 1985. Whether you strap a pad to your leg outside or inside your pant leg, the straps must hold the pad snugly to your leg to keep it in place. The straps or constricted pant legs are irritating and can reduce air flow around your legs. The straps can also reduce blood circulation in your leg.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,657,452 issued Dec. 27, 1927 to Bradley and U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,081 issued Mar. 18, 1997 to Torres, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,577 issued May 1, 1990 to Scharf each disclose work pants with built-in knee pads. The knee pads are inserted into cloth pockets sewn over the outside of the knee areas of the pant legs. Since the pads are affixed to the wearer's pant legs, the pads are held in place without uncomfortable straps. Also when the wearer is not kneeling, the pads move away from the wearer's leg so that air can more freely circulate under the pad. Bradley's knee pads are not removable from the pockets and would be difficult to dry after they get wet. Torres provides an opening in the knee pad pocket to allow the pad to be removed and squeezed dry when it gets wet. Torres uses a Velcro-like material to close the opening when the knee pad is in place. In the Scharf work pant, the pocket includes a large opening at the lower edge of the pocket though which the pad may be inserted or removed. The pad normally stays in the pocket by friction, but may work its way out of the opening from time-to-time. Also the large opening is prone to snagging on objects the wearer brushes against.
None of the knee pad systems described by the above-mentioned patents are particularly well-suited to being quickly and easily attached to existing pants since they all require sewing to the pant leg. Also each knee pad system, when retrofitted to a work pant, has what many would consider to be an obvious and negative impact on the appearance of the work pant.
It would be beneficial to provide a knee pad system for a work pant that could be easily attached to the work pant, that does not affect the appearance of the work pant, that will not allow a knee pad to work its way free of the work pant, and that need not be removed for washing or drying.